List of north–south roads in Toronto
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of the north–south arterial thoroughfares
in the Canadian
city of Toronto
. The city is organized in a grid pattern dating back to the plan laid out by Augustus Jones
between 1793 and 1797. Most streets are aligned in the north-south or east-west direction, based on the shoreline of Lake Ontario
. In other words, major north–south roads are generally perpendicular to the Lake Ontario shoreline and major east–west roads are generally parallel to the lake's shoreline. The Toronto road system is also influenced by its topography as some roads are aligned with the old Lake Iroquois
shoreline, or the deep valleys
. Minor streets with documented history or etymology are listed in a separate section.
Kipling Avenue is rumoured to be named after Rudyard Kipling, author of The Jungle Book
. Kipling was scheduled to read at the Woodbridge fair in 1907, but was forced to cancel at the last moment for reasons of health; it is said that the road to Woodbridge, thereto referred to as Mimico Street, was named in honour of the anticipated author. The road was named by 1908, but may have been named earlier in honour of a local farmer with that last name.
Islington Avenue is named for the village it passed at Dundas Street. The village of Islington was previously known as Mimico, and grew up around the Montgomery . This resulted in confusion with the nearby Mimico post office, and so the name was changed in 1858 by the wife of innkeeper Thomas Montgomery, Elizabeth Smith. Elizabeth chose the name after her birthplace, now a borough of London
, England
.
Islington Avenue begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West in New Toronto
, and progresses north to Steeles Avenue West, where it crosses into Vaughan
in York Region. The road is mostly suburban in nature, passing through largely residential sections of Etobicoke.
, who moved to Upper Canada in 1808 and owned several square kilometres of property northwest of Bloor and Keele. "Scarlett's Road" was opened along the route of the Toronto–Carrying Place Trail north of his property. The road begins at Dundas Street West immediately south of the CPR crosstown rail line. It connects with the western terminus of St. Clair Avenue, then progresses north alongside the Humber River
to north of Lawrence Avenue West, where it curves to the east and becomes Dixon Road.
, built at the corner of Dundas and Keele in 1838. Runnymede
is a field in England, southwest of London
, where the Magna Carta
was signed in 1215.
. The road was renamed on June 13, 1921 by order of Bylaw 8663.
Parkside Drive begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West. Passing beneath the Gardiner Expressway
and The Queensway, the road travels north alongside High Park, which lay to the west. At Bloor Street West, Parkside Drive becomes Keele Street. The entirety of the road is residential, with houses to the east side of the road.
in 1860.
and owned large land grants that were eventually subdivided to form Parkdale
. The name originates from a village
in northern Spain
near the border with France
, where O'Hara fought a battle against Napoleon I. Roncesvalles begins at an intersection with The Queensway, Queen Street and King Street and travels north to Dundas Street West.
. The road crosses the expressway and travels north through Parkdale
between rows of apartment buildings. Jameson Avenue ends at Queen Street West; the traffic signal is coordinated with the southern terminus of Lansdowne Avenue, nearby to the east.
, who served between 1883 and 1888.
Lansdowne Avenue begins at Queen Street West, a short distance east of the northern terminus of Jameson Avenue. It passes beneath the Georgetown GO line, meets Dundas Street West and College Street, then passes Lansdowne Subway Station
at Bloor Street West. The road continues north past Dupont Street, then passes beneath the CPR Midtown line before ending at St. Clair Avenue West.
in 1878. Dufferin Street begins at Exhibition Place
and travels north into Vaughan. The road is interrupted between Wilson Avenue and Sheppard Avenue West by Downsview Park
. Dufferin was disjointed at Queen Street West by a railway, a detour famously known as the Dufferin Jog. Following decades of negotiation, construction began in 2007 on remedying the jog by excavating a tunnel beneath the active tracks. This tunnel was completed and opened to traffic on November 10, 2010.
.
in Nottinghamshire
.
John Denison moved to York and built Brookfield House at a corner on Dundas Street, which is now the intersection of Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue. Dundas Street then followed what is now Queen Street West and then Ossington Avenue, obstructed by the valley of Garrison Creek
. Ossington Avenue was later built north from the present corner of Ossington and Dundas to Bloor Street West. The section between Bloor Street and Davenport Road was formerly known as Lancaster Road.
which travels from Eglinton Avenue West in the south to Kennard Avenue in the north. The portion south of Sheppard Avenue
was originally the completed section of the Spadina Expressway
. Allen Road is named after late Metro Toronto
Chairman William R. Allen
and maintained by the City of Toronto. Landmarks along the road include the Yorkdale Shopping Centre
and Downsview Park
(formerly CFB Downsview).
, and granting the charter to the first university in the city, King's College
. Bathurst originally only referred to the section south of Queen Street. In 1870, the section north of Queen Street became part of Bathurst Street. It was known until then as Crookshank's Lane, after Honourable George Crookshank. The road acted as a driveway to his 300 acre farm.
. The Baldwin's held numerous important positions in the early government of York, having several streets named after them (including Baldwin Street). William originally planned Spadina Avenue as the driveway to his new estate in 1818, and laid the street in 1836 with the unusual width of two chains (132 feet), double the width of any street laid to that date. It was eventually extended north and over the Nordheimer Ravine
to the village of Forest Hill
, and thereafter to Eglinton Avenue. Its southern terminus is at the edge of Lake Ontario.
Spadina has been transformed numerous times, once almost to a depressed expressway
known as the Spadina Expressway
, which was cancelled by premier Bill Davis
in 1971 after extensive protesting. Casa Loma
was built next to the Spadina House in the early 20th century.
) opened in 1829. King's College was the first college in Canada when it was chartered by Henry, 3rd Earl of Bathurst two years earlier. Both roads were known as College Avenue. In an attempt to create a stately elegant driveway to the college, the road was cut 120 feet wide and lined with chestnut trees and ornamental fences. A gatehouse designed by John Howard sat at the entranceway at present-day Queen and University. The road quickly became an obstacle to the growing city, and the gates surrounding it were torn down in 1859.
As part of a depression relief program, University was extended south of Queen Street to meet York Street at Front beginning in 1929.
and is often used as a metonymy
to refer to Canada's financial industry
, similar to Wall Street
in the United States
. Within the legal profession, the term Bay Street is also used colloquially to refer to the large, full-service business law firms of Toronto, particularly the top-tier law firms known as the Seven Sisters
. The street was officially named when the land it occupies was annexed by the first expansion of York
. Originally, Bay travelled from Lake Ontario to Lot Street, now Queen Street West. North of Queen Street and travelling to College Street was Teraulay Street. Several disconnected side streets existed north of there to Davenport Road. In 1922, By-Law 9316 joined these streets together as far north as Scollard Street.
By-Law 9884, enacted on January 28, 1924, changed the name of Ketchum Avenue to Bay Street, officially extending it to Davenport Road.
The bend in Bay Street south of Old City Hall reflects this history.
sits upon today, at King Street and Church, was the site of the first church in York, a wooden building built in 1807 and referred to simply as "the church". Three incarnations sat on the site of the current cathedral; the dedication to St. James came in 1828, four years prior to the construction of a new stone church. This building burnt shortly after becoming a cathedral. A new cathedral was constructed, only to burn down in the Great Fire of 1849
. John Strachan, first Bishop
of Toronto after 1839, rebuilt the present cathedral in 1853 (the spire was not completed until 1874) in a gothic revival style. The St. James Cathedral was the tallest structure in Toronto until the Royal York Hotel
was completed in 1927.
Jarvis Street begins at Queen's Quay north of the Lake Ontario
shoreline. It travels north to one block south of Bloor Street, where most traffic is siphoned on to Mount Pleasant Road
. Jarvis previously extended to Bloor Street, but was truncated On August 26, 2009. The section between Charles Street and Bloor Street was renamed Ted Rogers Way.
when it was constructed in the late 1910s. The road follows the course of several earlier streets, many of which it assumed, including Kinsman Avenue (1918), Sidmouth Avenue (1920) and Hilda Avenue (1935). In the late 1940s, Mount Pleasant Road was extended south to its current terminus. This was initially referred to as the Clifton Road Extension, and is considered Toronto's first expressway.
Mount Pleasant Road begins at the northern terminus of Jarvis Street, one block south of Bloor Street East. It passes through the communities of Rosedale
, Moore Park
and Lawrence Park
and crosses the Rosedale Ravine
, Yellow Creek and Blythwood Ravine. The road ends near the Doncrest bus loop at Glen Echo Drive.
. The buildings, originally planned as one with two wings, were not completed and in 1813 were destroyed by the invading American army. Parliament Street begins at Lake Shore Boulevard East, where it continues southwest as Queen's Quay, and travels north along the eastern outskirts of downtown Toronto
. The road ends at Bloor Street East between the Rosedale and Sherbourne phases of the Prince Edward Viaduct
. Prior to the construction of the viaduct, Parliament Street ended at Hayter Street.
today. Several notable estates were built along Bayview in the early 20th century, many of which still exist, since converted to a variety of public uses.
in Toronto
connecting the Gardiner Expressway
in downtown Toronto
with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, the expressway continues as Highway 404 to Newmarket
. The parkway runs through the parklands of the Don River valley, after which it is named. It is patrolled by the Toronto Police Service
, has a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h (55.9 mph) and is 15 km (9.3 mi) in length.
The parkway was the second expressway to be built by Metropolitan Toronto
(Metro). Planning for it began in 1954, the year of Metro's formation, the first section opened in 1961 and the entire route was completed by the end of 1966. South of Bloor Street, the expressway was constructed over existing roadways. North of Bloor Street, the expressway was built on a new alignment through the valley, requiring the removal of several hills, the rerouting of the Don River and the clearing of green space. North of Eglinton Avenue, the expressway follows the former Woodbine Avenue right-of-way north to Highway 401.
The parkway operates well beyond its intended capacity of 60,000 vehicles per day and is known for its daily traffic jams; some sections carry an average of 100,000 vehicles a day. Planned as part of a larger expressway network within Toronto, it was one of the few expressways built before the public opposition which cancelled many of the others.
. After leaving office, Borden went on to play an instrumental role in the crafting of the Paris Treaty and the subsequent independence of Canada from the British Crown.
. The road was extended in 1913 and 1922 by absorbing parts of Don Mills Road as far north as O'Connor Drive.
.
Leslie Street, which has four separate sections, begins at Lake Ontario
at the foot of the Leslie Street Spit
. Just north at Lake Shore Boulevard East was the former eastern terminus of the Gardiner Expressway
. It continues north to the railway tracks north of Gerrard Street East, where the first segment ends. Donlands Avenue, which runs from the north side of the railway tracks to north of O'Connor Drive, was originally another segment of Leslie Street. The second segment is represented by a one-block stretch of road between Wicksteed Avenue and Vanderhoof Avenue in the Leaside Industrial land area. It is separated from the third segment by the Ernest Thompson Seton parklands.
The third segment begins at Eglinton Avenue
near E.T. Seton and Wilket Creek Park. It travels north through commercial and residential neighbourhoods in Don Mills
and the Don Valley. A proposed extension from Eglinton Avenue south to Bayview Avenue (north of Pottery Road) never came to fruition.
It exits Toronto and enters York Region at Steeles Avenue. North of there, Leslie Street is a local road and ends shortly thereafter in Wycliffe Park. The fourth segment continues as an arterial road north of John Street in Markham
, where Don Mills Road becomes Leslie Street.
and followed Broadview north and O'Connor east before joining with the present-day Don Mills Road. The road ended at the Mills for a time, until farmers to the north on the land between the river valleys opened a new road to provide an easier route to carry their yields to the St. Lawrence Market
. The new road cut through established parcels of land, and came to be known as the Don Independent Road. This road extended as far north as York Mills Road.
After the formation of Metro Toronto, Don Mills was designated as part of the municipal network of major roads. It was promptly widened to four lanes, then later extended north over Highway 401 to Sheppard in 1964. The "peanut" was constructed shortly thereafter, and Don Mills gradually extended north of Steeles alongside suburban development in the 1970s. In 1987, the road was widened to six lanes alongside a recommendation to extend Leslie Street south of Eglinton to the Bayview Extension, and a proposal to try new high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, colloquially referred to in Toronto as a Diamond lane due to the markings on the pavement. While Leslie street was not extended, the HOV lanes were implemented along the route of the 25 - Don Mills bus.
that existed near its southern terminus for over a century and held numerous Queen's Plate
s until the track was moved to Etobicoke. The origins of the street date back to 1800 when surveyor John Stegman laid out farm properties and their supporting concession road
s, including what has become today's Woodbine Avenue.
The road allowance of Woodbine Avenue north of Lawrence Avenue to Highway 401 was removed when the Don Valley Parkway
was constructed in the early 1960s. Another section from Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue was lost when Highway 404 was built in the 1970s.
. Highway 404 was opened from Sheppard to Steeles in 1979 and extended north shortly thereafter.
and travels through a residential neighbourhood to Gerrard. North of Gerrard, the density of the surrounding development increases; though detached homes exist throughout the length of the road, businesses and apartment blocks are far more common. Victoria Park ends north of Steeles Avenue East at Denison Avenue in Markham
.
, beyond which no information is available.
and travels north to Steeles Avenue East, where it continues into Markham as York Regional Road 65. Although the section south of Danforth Avenue is mostly detached residential housing, the majority of Warden Avenue north of Danforth is industrial or commercial.
Birchmount began as a concession line laid out by the surveyors of Upper Canada
. For a long time, it remained a rural and little used route. In the 1920s, it was little more than a dirt path.
The southern part of Birchmount was one of the first parts of Toronto to see suburb
an development. This development was in the years immediately before and after the Second World War, and was thus not reflective of the car-centred design of much of Scarborough. Birchmount is notable for being the terminus of what has so far been the only TTC
streetcar
to ever travel into Scarborough. The Birchmount Loop was for several decades the turning loop for the Kingston Road streetcar. The first lines in the region were built by the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company
. They were taken over by the TTC which ran streetcars to Birchmount until 1954. The loop remained in place until 1985, when a condominium was built on the site.
By the 1960s, Birchmount had been transformed into its current role as one of the main arterial roads for Scarborough.
Kennedy Road is named for the Kennedy family, one of the many early farming settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries to which Thomas Laird Kennedy
belonged, who settled along the early concession road. It is likely linked to Private
John Kennedy of the 3rd Regiment of the York Militia (now The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)
who was granted 200 acre of land near Kennedy Road and Ellesmere Road.
The Toronto section of the road is mainly residential with high rise apartment buildings. However, there is a section between Lawrence Avenue East
and north of Sheppard Avenue East
which is dominated by commercial plazas and malls, including Kennedy Commons. North of Steeles Avenue
, Kennedy Road continues as York Regional Road 3 north to the shore of Lake Simcoe
.
, Brimley weaves through Scarborough, past Steeles Avenue and ends at 14th Avenue in Markham
. The Scarborough portion is mainly residential with small strip plaza
s interspersed along the route. North of Finch Avenue is Brimley forest, a small patch of unaltered land. North of Steeles, Brimley weaves through the residential areas of the Milliken
community of Markham.
The section south of Sheppard was once interrupted at Highway 401. An C$11 million overpass and partial interchange of the freeway was built and opened on October 18, 1987 over the objections of many area residents concerned with increased traffic volume. In an attempt to address these concerns, it was initially restricted to transit buses and emergency vehicles.
After widely-reported public pressure, Scarborough City Council voted February 18, 1988 to open the overpass to general traffic.
Proposals to modify the interchange are currently being examined as part of a larger analysis of Highway 401 through Scarborough.
McCowan Road is named for Ruan McCowan, a Scottish
family patriarch who settled near the Scarborough Bluffs
in 1833. The street, the former Lot 22, and later McCowan's Sideroad, was officially renamed McCowan Road by Scarborough Township in 1956.
McCowan Road begins at Kingston Road and extends north into York Region. There is an interruption at the Highland Creek
between Lawrence Avenue and Eglinton Avenue; Danforth Road carries traffic south of Lawrence. When the Scarborough Town Centre
complex was opened in 1973, an interchange with Highway 401 was constructed. North of Sheppard Avenue, CP Rail's Toronto marshalling yards use McCowan as a western limit, and stretch east of Markham Road.
, who wrote Looking Backwards 2000–1887, about a utopia
n society. Settlers approached Scarborough Township for a parcel of land to start their own utopia. Although the request was not granted, the road along which they sought to establish their society came to be known as Bellamy Road. The CN grade-separation on Eglinton, built in the early 1960s, split Bellamy Road into two unconnected sections. Consequently, the township of Scarborough renamed the sections as North or South on May 29, 1964.
Bellamy Road South begins at Kingston Road and proceeds north to just short of Eglinton Avenue. It is entirely a minor residential street. Bellamy Road North resumes opposite the southern section, just north of the CN tracks. The road becomes Corporate Drive at Progress Avenue, proceeding towards the Scarborough Town Centre
. Most of the northern section is residential, though the section between Ellesmere Road and Progress consists solely of multi-unit warehousing, many of which have been converted into places of worship.
. Existing first between the Danforth Road (now Painted Post) and the town, it was later extended south to Kingston Road and north to Stouffville
. Alongside the construction of the Toronto Bypass (now Highway 401), Highway 48
was extended south, from near Beaverton
, to where Markham Road would intersect the new "superhighway". It was originally intended to be upgraded to a freeway that would wrap around the eastern side of Lake Simcoe
and end in Orillia or north of Sutherland. However, with the construction of the Don Valley Parkway, Woodbine Avenue would be chosen in its place, becoming Highway 404.
Markham Road begins at Hill Crescent, south of Kingston Road. It proceeds through Scarborough to Steeles Avenue East, but continues into York Region where it is also designated as York Regional Road 68. Between Eglinton Avenue and Lawrence Avenue, the road crosses the Highland Creek
ravine; one of the only crossings of the ravine not bypassed by a high-level bridge. South of Sheppard Avenue, most of the route is abutted by a mix of apartments and commercial strip plazas. North of Sheppard is occupied entirely by expanses of industrial land.
valley along the road. Scarborough Golf Club begins at Hill Crescent and travels north to Ellesmere Road.
. It is the site of the Toronto Zoo
north of Sheppard Avenue
. North of the zoo, Meadowvale Road crosses through Toronto
's only rural region, which includes farmland, large section of plain fields, forests, and wildlife.
.
Arterial road
An arterial road, or arterial thoroughfare, is a high-capacity urban road. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector roads to freeways, and between urban centres at the highest level of service possible. As such, many arteries are limited-access roads, or feature...
in the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
city of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
. The city is organized in a grid pattern dating back to the plan laid out by Augustus Jones
Augustus Jones
Augustus Jones was an American-born Upper Canadian farmer, land speculator, magistrate, militia captain and surveyor. Jones trained as a surveyor in New York City, and fled as a United Empire Loyalist to Upper Canada...
between 1793 and 1797. Most streets are aligned in the north-south or east-west direction, based on the shoreline of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. In other words, major north–south roads are generally perpendicular to the Lake Ontario shoreline and major east–west roads are generally parallel to the lake's shoreline. The Toronto road system is also influenced by its topography as some roads are aligned with the old Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois
Glacial Lake Iroquois was a prehistoric proglacial lake that existed at the end of the last ice age approximately 13,000 years ago.The lake was essentially an enlargement of the present Lake Ontario that formed because the St. Lawrence River downstream from the lake was blocked by the ice sheet...
shoreline, or the deep valleys
Toronto ravine system
The Toronto ravine system is one of the most distinctive features of the geography of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a network of deep ravines that form a large urban forest that runs throughout much of the city...
. Minor streets with documented history or etymology are listed in a separate section.
Browns Line
Brown's Line was once the name by which the trail running north from Lake Ontario to Highway 9 was known. It originated as a trail which had been blazed to define the western boundary of the 1805 Toronto Purchase. The trail was eventually referred as "Brown's Line" as the northern terminus was a small town, now known as Schomberg, but originally called Brownsville. Since the hamlet's main inhabitant was known by the surname of Brown, it seemed logical that the road which transported persons to Brown's Town should be referred to as Brown's Line. There was, however another Brownsville just south of Ingersoll, Ontario, also named for the family in that town. Since there was obviously confusion in the mail system, the logic required a name change, and Schomberg was created likely for Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, a general under King William III of England. Today Brown's Line is a small southern portion of the road which has grown into Highway 427 from the Queen Elizabeth to Highway 401, and carries on as Highway 27, past Highway 9, and continues north to Barrie.Kipling Avenue
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Book is a collection of stories by British Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling. The stories were first published in magazines in 1893–4. The original publications contain illustrations, some by Rudyard's father, John Lockwood Kipling. Kipling was born in India and spent the first six...
. Kipling was scheduled to read at the Woodbridge fair in 1907, but was forced to cancel at the last moment for reasons of health; it is said that the road to Woodbridge, thereto referred to as Mimico Street, was named in honour of the anticipated author. The road was named by 1908, but may have been named earlier in honour of a local farmer with that last name.
Islington Avenue
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Islington Avenue begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West in New Toronto
New Toronto
The historic Town of New Toronto is a neighbourhood in the south-west end of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the south-centre of the former Township of Etobicoke and was an independent municipality from 1913 to 1967, one of the former 'Lakeshore Municipalities'...
, and progresses north to Steeles Avenue West, where it crosses into Vaughan
Vaughan
Vaughan is a city in York Region north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vaughan is the fastest growing municipality in Canada achieving a population growth rate of 80.2% between 1996–2006, according to Statistics Canada having nearly doubled in population since 1991. Vaughan is located in Southern...
in York Region. The road is mostly suburban in nature, passing through largely residential sections of Etobicoke.
Royal York Road
Royal York Road was so named for the original destination of the drive, which was the Royal York Golf Course, now St. George's. The course was originally built as an added attraction for the hotel guests. The entrance to the Club was changed to Islington Avenue after the Royal York Hotel sold the course.Weston Road
Weston Road from Mount Dennis to the 401 follows a trail that predates settlement of the area. The trail, known as the Toronto Carrying Place, commenced at the mouth of the Humber and was trodden by Champlain and Brule as well as many other early explorers. The first of the fur traders and the first settler of Toronto, Jean Baptiste Rousseaux had a fur trading Fort at the southern terminus, which is marked by an historical plaque. The trail was know in the earliest of recorded history, and followed the eastern banks of the Humber River from the Queensway along what is now Prince Edward Drive and continued on a route that would have been somewhere between Jane Street and the Humber River. Weston Road from Mount Dennis to the 401, follows the Carrying Place route which then continued north along the banks of the Humber and pursued roughly the route taken by Islingtom Avenue, through Humber Summit staying east of the Humber over the Oak Ridges moraine following just west of the Weston Road crossing the Aurora / Schomberg road between Weston Road and the 400 Highway. It finally joined a tributary of the Holland river at what is now Highway 9 just West of Weston Road where a cairn has been erected. (see Robinson- Toronto During the French Regime-Ryerson-1933Scarlett Road
Scarlett Road is named for John ScarlettJohn Scarlett (Toronto)
John Scarlett was an merchant-miller who played a significant role in the development of the part of the historic York Township that later became the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto.- Early Life :...
, who moved to Upper Canada in 1808 and owned several square kilometres of property northwest of Bloor and Keele. "Scarlett's Road" was opened along the route of the Toronto–Carrying Place Trail north of his property. The road begins at Dundas Street West immediately south of the CPR crosstown rail line. It connects with the western terminus of St. Clair Avenue, then progresses north alongside the Humber River
Humber River (Ontario)
The Humber River is one of two major rivers on either side of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, the other being the Don River to the east. It was designated a Canadian Heritage River on September 24, 1999....
to north of Lawrence Avenue West, where it curves to the east and becomes Dixon Road.
Runnymede Road
Runnymede Road is named for the house of John ScarlettJohn Scarlett (Toronto)
John Scarlett was an merchant-miller who played a significant role in the development of the part of the historic York Township that later became the Junction neighbourhood of Toronto.- Early Life :...
, built at the corner of Dundas and Keele in 1838. Runnymede
Runnymede
Runnymede is a water-meadow alongside the River Thames in the English county of Berkshire, and just over west of central London. It is notable for its association with the sealing of Magna Carta, and as a consequence is the site of a collection of memorials...
is a field in England, southwest of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where the Magna Carta
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215 and reissued later in the 13th century in modified versions, which included the most direct challenges to the monarch's authority to date. The charter first passed into law in 1225...
was signed in 1215.
Parkside Drive
Parkside Drive was formerly a portion of Keele Street until 1921, when it was renamed by the City of Toronto. John Howard sold his estate to the city in 1873 to use as a public parkHigh Park
High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans , and is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One third of the park remains in a natural state, with a rare oak savannah ecology...
. The road was renamed on June 13, 1921 by order of Bylaw 8663.
Parkside Drive begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West. Passing beneath the Gardiner Expressway
Gardiner Expressway
The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, colloquially referred to as "the Gardiner", is a municipal expressway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting downtown Toronto with its western suburbs...
and The Queensway, the road travels north alongside High Park, which lay to the west. At Bloor Street West, Parkside Drive becomes Keele Street. The entirety of the road is residential, with houses to the east side of the road.
Keele Street
Keele Street is named for lawyer William Keele. William owned land across the road from John Scarlett at Dundas and Keele, gradually expanding his acreage in the mid-19th century. William opened the Carleton Race Course in 1857, which held the first Queen's PlateQueen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
in 1860.
Roncesvalles Avenue
Roncesvalles Avenue was named by or in honour of Colonel Walter O'Hara, who fought in the Peninsular WarPeninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
and owned large land grants that were eventually subdivided to form Parkdale
Parkdale, Toronto
Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by Queen Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario...
. The name originates from a village
Roncesvalles
Roncesvalles is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some 900 metres in the Pyrenees, about 8 kilometres from the French frontier....
in northern Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
near the border with France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, where O'Hara fought a battle against Napoleon I. Roncesvalles begins at an intersection with The Queensway, Queen Street and King Street and travels north to Dundas Street West.
Jameson Avenue
Jameson Avenue is named for Robert Sympson Jameson, Attourney General for Upper Canada in the late 1830s. Jameson bought land south of Queen Street between the second and third concessions (Dufferin and Parkside today) in the late 1840s. Jameson Avenue was built through his property when it was subdivided by the growing city. The road begins at Lake Shore Boulevard West, where access is provided to the Gardiner ExpresswayGardiner Expressway
The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, colloquially referred to as "the Gardiner", is a municipal expressway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting downtown Toronto with its western suburbs...
. The road crosses the expressway and travels north through Parkdale
Parkdale, Toronto
Parkdale is a neighbourhood and former village in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, west of downtown. The neighbourhood is bounded on the west by Roncesvalles Avenue, on the north by Queen Street. It is bounded on the east by Dufferin Street from Queen Street south, and on the south by Lake Ontario...
between rows of apartment buildings. Jameson Avenue ends at Queen Street West; the traffic signal is coordinated with the southern terminus of Lansdowne Avenue, nearby to the east.
Lansdowne Avenue
Lansdowne Avenue was originally known as North Jameson Avenue. It was renamed by the Parkdale village council in 1883 to honour the new Governor General, Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne
Henry Charles Keith Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, KG, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, PC was a British politician and Irish peer who served successively as the fifth Governor General of Canada, Viceroy of India, Secretary of State for War, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs...
, who served between 1883 and 1888.
Lansdowne Avenue begins at Queen Street West, a short distance east of the northern terminus of Jameson Avenue. It passes beneath the Georgetown GO line, meets Dundas Street West and College Street, then passes Lansdowne Subway Station
Lansdowne (TTC)
Lansdowne is a station on the Bloor–Danforth line of the subway system in Toronto, Canada. Its official address is 1287 Bloor Street West, although the main station is located just north of Bloor Street on Lansdowne Avenue. Opened in 1966, the station lies approximately 561 metres from its nearest...
at Bloor Street West. The road continues north past Dupont Street, then passes beneath the CPR Midtown line before ending at St. Clair Avenue West.
Dufferin Street
Dufferin Street, known as the Side Line until 1876, was renamed in honour of Governor General Frederick Temple Blackwood, Lord Dufferin. Dufferin served as Governor General between 1872 and 1878, and presided over the opening of the first Canadian National ExhibitionCanadian National Exhibition
Canadian National Exhibition , also known as The Ex, is an annual event that takes place at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 18 days leading up to and including Labour Day Monday. With an attendance of approximately 1.3 million visitors each season, it is Canada’s largest...
in 1878. Dufferin Street begins at Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place
Exhibition Place is a mixed-use district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, by the shoreline of Lake Ontario, just west of downtown. The 197–acre area includes expo, trade, and banquet centres, theatre and music buildings, monuments, parkland, sports facilities, and a number of civic, provincial,...
and travels north into Vaughan. The road is interrupted between Wilson Avenue and Sheppard Avenue West by Downsview Park
Downsview Park
Downsview Park is a former Canadian Forces Base in the community of Downsview in Toronto, Canada. It contains about 231.5 hectares of land, of which more than 130 hectares are earmarked for traditional parkland, recreational and cultural amenities...
. Dufferin was disjointed at Queen Street West by a railway, a detour famously known as the Dufferin Jog. Following decades of negotiation, construction began in 2007 on remedying the jog by excavating a tunnel beneath the active tracks. This tunnel was completed and opened to traffic on November 10, 2010.
Oakwood Avenue
Oakwood Avenue is named for the settlement that grew near its intersection with St. Clair Avenue West.Marlee Avenue
Marlee Avenue was originally known as Lyon Avenue. The name was changed in 1953 at the request of Bernice Stein, who lived at 184 Woodmount Avenue. It is named for Mrs. Stein's niece. Marlee Avenue connects Eglinton Avenue West with Lawrence Avenue West to the west of Allen RoadAllen Road
William R. Allen Road, known more commonly as Allen Road, The Allen Expressway or simply The Allen and formerly as the Spadina Expressway, is a short expressway/freeway in Toronto, Ontario, which runs from Kennard Avenue in the north, to Eglinton Avenue West in the south...
.
Ossington Avenue
Ossington Avenue is named for the estate of the Denison familyOssington
Ossington is a village in the county of Nottinghamshire, England 7 miles north of Newark on Trent.It is centred around the site of Ossington Hall, the ancestral home of the Denison family. The house was demolished in 1964 and all that remains are a few out-buildings and the private chapel which...
in Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
.
John Denison moved to York and built Brookfield House at a corner on Dundas Street, which is now the intersection of Queen Street West and Ossington Avenue. Dundas Street then followed what is now Queen Street West and then Ossington Avenue, obstructed by the valley of Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek
Garrison Creek was a short stream about long that flowed southeast into the west side of Toronto Harbour in Ontario, Canada.It has been largely covered over and filled in, but geographical traces of the creek can still be found. The natural amphitheatre known as Christie Pits is one such remnant;...
. Ossington Avenue was later built north from the present corner of Ossington and Dundas to Bloor Street West. The section between Bloor Street and Davenport Road was formerly known as Lancaster Road.
Allen Road
William R. Allen Road, known more commonly as Allen Road, The Allen Expressway or simply The Allen and formerly as the Spadina Expressway, is a short expresswayControlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...
which travels from Eglinton Avenue West in the south to Kennard Avenue in the north. The portion south of Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
was originally the completed section of the Spadina Expressway
Spadina Expressway
The Spadina Expressway was a proposed north-south freeway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was only partially built before being cancelled in 1971 due to public opposition. It was proposed in the mid-1960s as part of a network of freeways for Metropolitan Toronto. Its cancellation prompted the...
. Allen Road is named after late Metro Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
Chairman William R. Allen
William Allen (Canadian politician)
William Randall Allen, QC was a Toronto politician who served as the Chairman of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto from 1962 to 1969 and is the namesake of the W.R. Allen Expressway . Metropolitan Toronto was created by the Province of Ontario in 1952 and comprised Toronto, North York,...
and maintained by the City of Toronto. Landmarks along the road include the Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre
Yorkdale Shopping Centre is a large shopping mall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It contains over 250 stores and is located in the community of Downsview, in North York. It is the fifth largest shopping mall in Canada and also enjoys the highest sales per square foot of any mall in Canada, with...
and Downsview Park
Downsview Park
Downsview Park is a former Canadian Forces Base in the community of Downsview in Toronto, Canada. It contains about 231.5 hectares of land, of which more than 130 hectares are earmarked for traditional parkland, recreational and cultural amenities...
(formerly CFB Downsview).
Bathurst Street
Bathurst Street is named after Henry, 3rd Earl of Bathurst, who was Secretary of War during the reign of George IV. Henry's contributions to Toronto include organizing the successive waves of British settlers following the War of 1812War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, and granting the charter to the first university in the city, King's College
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
. Bathurst originally only referred to the section south of Queen Street. In 1870, the section north of Queen Street became part of Bathurst Street. It was known until then as Crookshank's Lane, after Honourable George Crookshank. The road acted as a driveway to his 300 acre farm.
Spadina
Spadina Avenue, and its extension north of Bloor Street, Spadina Road, originally pronounced "spa-dee-nuh", are named after the estate of Dr. William Baldwin. After a fire and two complete reconstructions, this estate has since become the Spadina HouseSpadina House
Spadina Museum, also called Spadina , is a historic manor on Spadina Road in Toronto, Canada that is now a museum operated by the City of Toronto Cultural Services. The museum preserves the house much as it existed and developed historically...
. The Baldwin's held numerous important positions in the early government of York, having several streets named after them (including Baldwin Street). William originally planned Spadina Avenue as the driveway to his new estate in 1818, and laid the street in 1836 with the unusual width of two chains (132 feet), double the width of any street laid to that date. It was eventually extended north and over the Nordheimer Ravine
Castle Frank Brook
Castle Frank Brook is a buried creek and south-west flowing tributary of the Don River in central and north-western Toronto, Ontario, originating near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Dufferin Street....
to the village of Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Toronto
Forest Hill is an affluent neighbourhood in central Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Along with Lawrence Park, Rosedale, and The Bridle Path, it is one of Toronto’s wealthiest neighbourhoods.-History:...
, and thereafter to Eglinton Avenue. Its southern terminus is at the edge of Lake Ontario.
Spadina has been transformed numerous times, once almost to a depressed expressway
Controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...
known as the Spadina Expressway
Spadina Expressway
The Spadina Expressway was a proposed north-south freeway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was only partially built before being cancelled in 1971 due to public opposition. It was proposed in the mid-1960s as part of a network of freeways for Metropolitan Toronto. Its cancellation prompted the...
, which was cancelled by premier Bill Davis
Bill Davis
William Grenville "Bill" Davis, was the 18th Premier of Ontario, Canada, from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the MPP for Peel in the 1959 provincial election where he was a backbencher in Leslie Frost's government. Under John Robarts, he was a cabinet minister overseeing the education...
in 1971 after extensive protesting. Casa Loma
Casa Loma
Casa Loma is a Gothic Revival style house in midtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, that is now a museum and landmark. It was originally a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. Casa Loma was constructed over a three-year period from 1911–1914. The architect of the mansion was E. J...
was built next to the Spadina House in the early 20th century.
University Avenue
University Avenue shares its origins with College Street as one of the two private entrances to King's College (now the University of TorontoUniversity of Toronto
The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...
) opened in 1829. King's College was the first college in Canada when it was chartered by Henry, 3rd Earl of Bathurst two years earlier. Both roads were known as College Avenue. In an attempt to create a stately elegant driveway to the college, the road was cut 120 feet wide and lined with chestnut trees and ornamental fences. A gatehouse designed by John Howard sat at the entranceway at present-day Queen and University. The road quickly became an obstacle to the growing city, and the gates surrounding it were torn down in 1859.
As part of a depression relief program, University was extended south of Queen Street to meet York Street at Front beginning in 1929.
Avenue Road
There are several stories relating to the origin of Avenue Road. The most popular legend retells that of an early surveying team travelling west along what is now Bloor Street. Upon reaching the location of the intersection with Avenue Road today, the lead surveyor, a Scottish man, pointed north and proclaimed "Let's 'ave a new road here"Bay Street
Bay Street was originally known as Bear Street, supposedly a reference to a "noted chase given to a bear" by settlers in that area. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial DistrictFinancial District, Toronto
The Financial District is a business district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, within the downtown core. It was originally planned as New Town in 1796 as an extension of the Town of York . It is the main financial district in Toronto, and is the financial heart of Canada...
and is often used as a metonymy
Metonymy
Metonymy is a figure of speech used in rhetoric in which a thing or concept is not called by its own name, but by the name of something intimately associated with that thing or concept...
to refer to Canada's financial industry
Economy of Canada
Canada has the tenth largest economy in the world , is one of the world's wealthiest nations, and is a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and Group of Eight . As with other developed nations, the Canadian economy is dominated by the service industry, which employs...
, similar to Wall Street
Wall Street
Wall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Within the legal profession, the term Bay Street is also used colloquially to refer to the large, full-service business law firms of Toronto, particularly the top-tier law firms known as the Seven Sisters
Seven Sisters (law firms)
The Seven Sisters refers to a collection of seven leading Canadian law firms with offices in Toronto. The term can be traced back to at least 2001, when it may have been coined by Sandra Rubin to describe the top seven Canadian law firms by mergers and acquisitions deal volume...
. The street was officially named when the land it occupies was annexed by the first expansion of York
York, Upper Canada
York was the name of Old Toronto between 1793 and 1834. It was the second capital of Upper Canada.- History :The town was established in 1793 by Governor John Graves Simcoe, with a new 'Fort York' on the site of the last French 'Fort Toronto'...
. Originally, Bay travelled from Lake Ontario to Lot Street, now Queen Street West. North of Queen Street and travelling to College Street was Teraulay Street. Several disconnected side streets existed north of there to Davenport Road. In 1922, By-Law 9316 joined these streets together as far north as Scollard Street.
By-Law 9884, enacted on January 28, 1924, changed the name of Ketchum Avenue to Bay Street, officially extending it to Davenport Road.
The bend in Bay Street south of Old City Hall reflects this history.
Church Street
Church Street is so named because where St. James CathedralCathedral Church of St. James (Toronto)
Cathedral Church of St. James in Toronto, Canada is the home of the oldest congregation in the city. The parish was established in 1797. The Cathedral was begun in 1850 and completed in 1853, was at the time one of the largest buildings in the city...
sits upon today, at King Street and Church, was the site of the first church in York, a wooden building built in 1807 and referred to simply as "the church". Three incarnations sat on the site of the current cathedral; the dedication to St. James came in 1828, four years prior to the construction of a new stone church. This building burnt shortly after becoming a cathedral. A new cathedral was constructed, only to burn down in the Great Fire of 1849
Great Fire of Toronto (1849)
Great Fire of Toronto was the first major fire to destroy part of the City and the second in the 19th century.The fire began at Post's Tavern, east of Jarvis Street and north of King Street in the early morning of April 7, 1849...
. John Strachan, first Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of Toronto after 1839, rebuilt the present cathedral in 1853 (the spire was not completed until 1874) in a gothic revival style. The St. James Cathedral was the tallest structure in Toronto until the Royal York Hotel
Fairmont Royal York
The Fairmont Royal York Hotel, formerly the Royal York Hotel and still often so called, is a large and historic hotel in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at 100 Front Street West. Opened on June 11, 1929, the Royal York was designed by Ross and Macdonald and built by the Canadian Pacific Railway...
was completed in 1927.
Jarvis Street
Jarvis Street recognizes the Jarvis family, who lived on land north of Queen Street and centred on Jarvis Street between 1824 and 1846. William Jarvis was Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Records between 1792 and his death in 1817. His son, Samuel Jarvis, won the last duel held in Toronto when he mortally wounded his neighbour and rival John Ridout. He was arrested as a result, but later acquitted, after which he took over his father's position. The increasing debt of the family led Samuel to sell off the property beginning in 1846. His house, Hazel Burn, was demolished to make way for Jarvis Street. Mutual Street was established at the same time on the property line between the former rivals.Jarvis Street begins at Queen's Quay north of the Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
shoreline. It travels north to one block south of Bloor Street, where most traffic is siphoned on to Mount Pleasant Road
Mount Pleasant Road
Mount Pleasant Road is a major arterial thoroughfare in the Canadian city of Toronto, Ontario that travels from Jarvis Street south of Bloor Street north to Glen Echo Drive. The road is unique as one of the few arterial roads in Toronto to be created after the development of the suburbs which it...
. Jarvis previously extended to Bloor Street, but was truncated On August 26, 2009. The section between Charles Street and Bloor Street was renamed Ted Rogers Way.
Mount Pleasant Road
Mount Pleasant Road was named after the cemetery which it passes throughMount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto were limited to the members of either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England...
when it was constructed in the late 1910s. The road follows the course of several earlier streets, many of which it assumed, including Kinsman Avenue (1918), Sidmouth Avenue (1920) and Hilda Avenue (1935). In the late 1940s, Mount Pleasant Road was extended south to its current terminus. This was initially referred to as the Clifton Road Extension, and is considered Toronto's first expressway.
Mount Pleasant Road begins at the northern terminus of Jarvis Street, one block south of Bloor Street East. It passes through the communities of Rosedale
Rosedale, Toronto
Rosedale is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which was formerly the estate of William Botsford Jarvis, and so named by his wife, granddaughter of William Dummer Powell, for the wild roses that grew there in abundance....
, Moore Park
Moore Park, Toronto
Moore Park is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It lies along both sides of St. Clair Avenue East between the Vale of Avoca section of Rosedale ravine and Moore Park ravine . The northern boundary is Mount Pleasant Cemetery and the southern the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks.The...
and Lawrence Park
Lawrence Park, Toronto
Lawrence Park is one of Toronto, Canada's most affluent residential neighbourhoods, along with Rosedale, the Bridle Path, and Forest Hill. It is also one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Canada....
and crosses the Rosedale Ravine
Castle Frank Brook
Castle Frank Brook is a buried creek and south-west flowing tributary of the Don River in central and north-western Toronto, Ontario, originating near the intersection of Lawrence Avenue and Dufferin Street....
, Yellow Creek and Blythwood Ravine. The road ends near the Doncrest bus loop at Glen Echo Drive.
Sherbourne Street
Sherbourne Street was named by Samuel Ridout in 1845 after the town in Dorset, England; the Ridout family emigrated from Sherborne.Parliament Street
Parliament Street was the site of the original Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada, constructed on Front Street between Berkeley and Parliament by 1797 under the orders of John Graves SimcoeJohn Graves Simcoe
John Graves Simcoe was a British army officer and the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada from 1791–1796. Then frontier, this was modern-day southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior...
. The buildings, originally planned as one with two wings, were not completed and in 1813 were destroyed by the invading American army. Parliament Street begins at Lake Shore Boulevard East, where it continues southwest as Queen's Quay, and travels north along the eastern outskirts of downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
. The road ends at Bloor Street East between the Rosedale and Sherbourne phases of the Prince Edward Viaduct
Prince Edward Viaduct
The Prince Edward Viaduct System, commonly referred to as the Bloor Viaduct or the viaduct, is the name of a truss arch bridge system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that connects Bloor Street East, on the west side of the system, with Danforth Avenue on the east...
. Prior to the construction of the viaduct, Parliament Street ended at Hayter Street.
Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue, previously known as East York Avenue, was named in 1930 after the estate of Dr. James Stanley McLean, Bay View. The McLean House forms a part of the Sunnybrook Health Sciences CentreSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, abbreviated SHSC and known simply as Sunnybrook, is an academic health sciences centre located in Toronto, Ontario....
today. Several notable estates were built along Bayview in the early 20th century, many of which still exist, since converted to a variety of public uses.
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway (DVP) is a controlled-access six-lane expresswayControlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a highway designed exclusively for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow and ingress/egress regulated...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
connecting the Gardiner Expressway
Gardiner Expressway
The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, colloquially referred to as "the Gardiner", is a municipal expressway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting downtown Toronto with its western suburbs...
in downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto
Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...
with Highway 401. North of Highway 401, the expressway continues as Highway 404 to Newmarket
Newmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
. The parkway runs through the parklands of the Don River valley, after which it is named. It is patrolled by the Toronto Police Service
Toronto Police Service
The Toronto Police Service , formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Police, is the police service for the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Canada and second largest police force in Canada after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
, has a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h (55.9 mph) and is 15 km (9.3 mi) in length.
The parkway was the second expressway to be built by Metropolitan Toronto
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
(Metro). Planning for it began in 1954, the year of Metro's formation, the first section opened in 1961 and the entire route was completed by the end of 1966. South of Bloor Street, the expressway was constructed over existing roadways. North of Bloor Street, the expressway was built on a new alignment through the valley, requiring the removal of several hills, the rerouting of the Don River and the clearing of green space. North of Eglinton Avenue, the expressway follows the former Woodbine Avenue right-of-way north to Highway 401.
The parkway operates well beyond its intended capacity of 60,000 vehicles per day and is known for its daily traffic jams; some sections carry an average of 100,000 vehicles a day. Planned as part of a larger expressway network within Toronto, it was one of the few expressways built before the public opposition which cancelled many of the others.
Laird Drive
Laird Drive takes its name from Robert Laird Borden, Prime Minister of Canada between 1911 and 1920. Borden, whose middle name is his mother's maiden name, led the country through the First World WarWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. After leaving office, Borden went on to play an instrumental role in the crafting of the Paris Treaty and the subsequent independence of Canada from the British Crown.
Broadview Avenue
Broadview Avenue, known the Mill Road until 1884, was constructed in 1798 by Timothy Skinner, owner of several mills in Todmorden. The name is a reference to the broad view from the crest overlooking Riverdale ParkRiverdale Park (Toronto)
Riverdale Park is a large park spanning the Lower Don River, Toronto, Ontario, Canada between Cabbagetown to the west and Broadview Avenue in Riverdale to the east. Recreational fields for soccer, baseball, and Ultimate are available on both sides of the river with a swimming pool, tennis courts...
. The road was extended in 1913 and 1922 by absorbing parts of Don Mills Road as far north as O'Connor Drive.
Leslie Street
Leslie Street was named for nursery owner George Leslie, who owned a store on Queen Street in LeslievilleLeslieville
Leslieville is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada east of the Don River bounded by the Canadian National railway line and Gerrard Street to the north, Empire Avenue to the west, Eastern Avenue to south, and Coxwell Avenue to the east.-History:...
.
Leslie Street, which has four separate sections, begins at Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
at the foot of the Leslie Street Spit
Leslie Street Spit
The Leslie Street Spit, or officially the Outer Harbour East Headland, is a man-made headland in Toronto, Ontario, extending from the city's east end in a roughly southwesterly direction into Lake Ontario. It is about 5 km long....
. Just north at Lake Shore Boulevard East was the former eastern terminus of the Gardiner Expressway
Gardiner Expressway
The Frederick G. Gardiner Expressway, colloquially referred to as "the Gardiner", is a municipal expressway in the Canadian province of Ontario, connecting downtown Toronto with its western suburbs...
. It continues north to the railway tracks north of Gerrard Street East, where the first segment ends. Donlands Avenue, which runs from the north side of the railway tracks to north of O'Connor Drive, was originally another segment of Leslie Street. The second segment is represented by a one-block stretch of road between Wicksteed Avenue and Vanderhoof Avenue in the Leaside Industrial land area. It is separated from the third segment by the Ernest Thompson Seton parklands.
The third segment begins at Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue
Eglinton Avenue, originally known as the Richview Sideroad within Etobicoke, is an east-west arterial thoroughfare in Toronto and Mississauga, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Within Toronto, Eglinton Avenue is the only road which crosses through all six former boroughs...
near E.T. Seton and Wilket Creek Park. It travels north through commercial and residential neighbourhoods in Don Mills
Don Mills
Don Mills is a mixed-use neighbourhood in the North York district of Toronto, Canada. It was developed to be a self-supporting "new town" and was at the time located outside of Toronto proper. Consisting of residential, commercial and industrial sub-districts, it was planned and developed by...
and the Don Valley. A proposed extension from Eglinton Avenue south to Bayview Avenue (north of Pottery Road) never came to fruition.
It exits Toronto and enters York Region at Steeles Avenue. North of there, Leslie Street is a local road and ends shortly thereafter in Wycliffe Park. The fourth segment continues as an arterial road north of John Street in Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
, where Don Mills Road becomes Leslie Street.
Donlands Avenue
Donlands Avenue was renamed from Leslie Street on February 22, 1915, as the two were disconnected. Donlands Avenue begins at Danforth Avenue and ends at the foot of the Leaside Bridge. On the opposite side of the bridge, drivers continue on Millwood Road.Don Mills Road
Don Mills Road, known by various names over time including The Mill Road and the Don Independent Road, is named for the many saw and grist mills that established near the Forks of the Don in the early 19th century. At the time the road began at Winchester Street and Parliament Street and crossed the Don River at Riverdale Park. The road rose onto the table lands along what is now the entrance to the northbound Don Valley ParkwayDon Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...
and followed Broadview north and O'Connor east before joining with the present-day Don Mills Road. The road ended at the Mills for a time, until farmers to the north on the land between the river valleys opened a new road to provide an easier route to carry their yields to the St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market
St. Lawrence Market is one of two major markets in Toronto, the other being Kensington Market.It features two buildings, both on the west side of Front St. East and Jarvis St. Each building holds different purposes:...
. The new road cut through established parcels of land, and came to be known as the Don Independent Road. This road extended as far north as York Mills Road.
After the formation of Metro Toronto, Don Mills was designated as part of the municipal network of major roads. It was promptly widened to four lanes, then later extended north over Highway 401 to Sheppard in 1964. The "peanut" was constructed shortly thereafter, and Don Mills gradually extended north of Steeles alongside suburban development in the 1970s. In 1987, the road was widened to six lanes alongside a recommendation to extend Leslie Street south of Eglinton to the Bayview Extension, and a proposal to try new high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane, colloquially referred to in Toronto as a Diamond lane due to the markings on the pavement. While Leslie street was not extended, the HOV lanes were implemented along the route of the 25 - Don Mills bus.
Coxwell Avenue
Coxwell Avenue is named after Charles Coxwell Small, a clerk in the Supreme Court of Upper Canada and a resident of the Berkeley Estate.Woodbine Avenue
Woodbine Avenue was named for the Woodbine RacetrackWoodbine Racetrack
Woodbine Racetrack is a Canadian racetrack for Thoroughbred horse races located at 555 Rexdale Blvd. in the city of Toronto, Ontario. It is the only horseracing track in North America which stages, or is capable of staging, thoroughbred and standardbred horseracing programs on the same day...
that existed near its southern terminus for over a century and held numerous Queen's Plate
Queen's Plate
The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...
s until the track was moved to Etobicoke. The origins of the street date back to 1800 when surveyor John Stegman laid out farm properties and their supporting concession road
Concession road
In Upper and Lower Canada, concession roads were laid out by the colonial government through undeveloped land to define lots to be developed; the name comes from a Lower Canadian French term for a row of lots. Concession roads are straight, and follow an approximately square grid, usually oriented...
s, including what has become today's Woodbine Avenue.
The road allowance of Woodbine Avenue north of Lawrence Avenue to Highway 401 was removed when the Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...
was constructed in the early 1960s. Another section from Highway 401 to Steeles Avenue was lost when Highway 404 was built in the 1970s.
Highway 404
King's Highway 404, colloquially referred to as the four-oh-four, is a provincially maintained extension to the Don Valley Parkway. It begins at Highway 401 and travels north of the city limits to NewmarketNewmarket, Ontario
Newmarket is a town in Southern Ontario located approximately 50 km north of downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area and is connected to Toronto by freeway, and is served by three interchanges along Highway 404. It is also connected to Highway 400 via Highway 9...
. Highway 404 was opened from Sheppard to Steeles in 1979 and extended north shortly thereafter.
Victoria Park Avenue
Victoria Park Avenue was named after a park which once ran alongside the road. The park was itself named in honour of Queen Victoria. Until the 1960s, Victoria Park Avenue only extended as far north as Danforth Avenue; the swamps of Taylor-Massey Creek blocked further progress until they were drained during the construction of the Bloor–Danforth line. The road north of St. Clair Avenue formed part of Dawes Road until then. Victoria Park Avenue begins at Queen Street East, north of the R. C. Harris Water Treatment Plant. It quickly climbs the western edge of the Scarborough BluffsScarborough Bluffs
The Scarborough Bluffs is an escarpment in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Forming much of the eastern portion of Toronto's waterfront, it is located along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises above its foot and spans a length of...
and travels through a residential neighbourhood to Gerrard. North of Gerrard, the density of the surrounding development increases; though detached homes exist throughout the length of the road, businesses and apartment blocks are far more common. Victoria Park ends north of Steeles Avenue East at Denison Avenue in Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
.
Pharmacy Avenue
Pharmacy Avenue likely takes its name from a local pharmacyPharmacy
Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...
, beyond which no information is available.
Warden Avenue
Warden Avenue was previously Wardin Avenue, but the origin of both is unknown. Warden begins south of Kingston Road at the former Toronto Hunt ClubToronto Hunt Club
The Toronto Hunt Club was established in by British Army officers of the Toronto garrison in 1843. It held gymkhana equestrian events at various sites around the city. In 1895 it acquired its first permanent home in a rural area east of the city between Kingston Road and the waterfront...
and travels north to Steeles Avenue East, where it continues into Markham as York Regional Road 65. Although the section south of Danforth Avenue is mostly detached residential housing, the majority of Warden Avenue north of Danforth is industrial or commercial.
Birchmount Road
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
. For a long time, it remained a rural and little used route. In the 1920s, it was little more than a dirt path.
The southern part of Birchmount was one of the first parts of Toronto to see suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
an development. This development was in the years immediately before and after the Second World War, and was thus not reflective of the car-centred design of much of Scarborough. Birchmount is notable for being the terminus of what has so far been the only TTC
Toronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
streetcar
Toronto streetcar system
The Toronto streetcar system comprises eleven streetcar routes in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission , and is the largest such system in the Americas in terms of ridership, number of cars, and track length. The network is concentrated primarily in downtown and in...
to ever travel into Scarborough. The Birchmount Loop was for several decades the turning loop for the Kingston Road streetcar. The first lines in the region were built by the Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company
Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company
Toronto and Scarboro' Electric Railway, Light and Power Company was established in August 1892 to provide street railway service beyond the then City of Toronto, Ontario to the Township of Scarborough....
. They were taken over by the TTC which ran streetcars to Birchmount until 1954. The loop remained in place until 1985, when a condominium was built on the site.
By the 1960s, Birchmount had been transformed into its current role as one of the main arterial roads for Scarborough.
Kennedy Road
Thomas Laird Kennedy
Thomas Laird Kennedy was a politician in Ontario, Canada and served briefly as the 15th Premier of Ontario. He was first elected as the Conservative member for Peel in the 1919 provincial election...
belonged, who settled along the early concession road. It is likely linked to Private
Private (rank)
A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...
John Kennedy of the 3rd Regiment of the York Militia (now The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)
The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)
The Queen's York Rangers R.C.A.C. is a Canadian Forces Primary Reserve regiment based in Toronto and Aurora. The regiment is part of Land Force Central Area's 32 Canadian Brigade Group. The regiment consists of two reconnaissance squadrons, A Sqn in Aurora and B Sqn in Toronto, and a Headquarters...
who was granted 200 acre of land near Kennedy Road and Ellesmere Road.
The Toronto section of the road is mainly residential with high rise apartment buildings. However, there is a section between Lawrence Avenue East
Lawrence Avenue
Lawrence Avenue is a major east-west thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is divided into east and west portions by Yonge Street, the dividing line of east-west streets in Toronto....
and north of Sheppard Avenue East
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
which is dominated by commercial plazas and malls, including Kennedy Commons. North of Steeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue
Steeles Avenue is an east-west street that forms the northern city limit of Toronto and the southern limit of York Region, Ontario, Canada. It stretches across the western Greater Toronto Area from Milborough Townline in Halton Region east to the Scarborough-Pickering limit. It runs for within...
, Kennedy Road continues as York Regional Road 3 north to the shore of Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
.
Midland Avenue
Midland Avenue was known as Church Street until 1882, when it was renamed for the Midland Railway Company in 1882. Only two years later, the Midland Railway would be purchased by the Grand Trunk RailwayGrand Trunk Railway
The Grand Trunk Railway was a railway system which operated in the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Ontario, as well as the American states of Connecticut, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. The railway was operated from headquarters in Montreal, Quebec; however, corporate...
Brimley Road
Brimley Road is of unknown origin. Beginning at Bluffer's Park at the foot of the Scarborough BluffsScarborough Bluffs
The Scarborough Bluffs is an escarpment in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Forming much of the eastern portion of Toronto's waterfront, it is located along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises above its foot and spans a length of...
, Brimley weaves through Scarborough, past Steeles Avenue and ends at 14th Avenue in Markham
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
. The Scarborough portion is mainly residential with small strip plaza
Strip mall
A strip mall is an open-area shopping center where the stores are arranged in a row, with a sidewalk in front. Strip malls are typically developed as a unit and have large parking lots in front...
s interspersed along the route. North of Finch Avenue is Brimley forest, a small patch of unaltered land. North of Steeles, Brimley weaves through the residential areas of the Milliken
Milliken, Ontario
Milliken or Milliken Mills is a neighbourhood in the city of Toronto and Markham, Ontario. It is located in the North East section of Scarborough and South East section of Markham...
community of Markham.
The section south of Sheppard was once interrupted at Highway 401. An C$11 million overpass and partial interchange of the freeway was built and opened on October 18, 1987 over the objections of many area residents concerned with increased traffic volume. In an attempt to address these concerns, it was initially restricted to transit buses and emergency vehicles.
After widely-reported public pressure, Scarborough City Council voted February 18, 1988 to open the overpass to general traffic.
Proposals to modify the interchange are currently being examined as part of a larger analysis of Highway 401 through Scarborough.
McCowan Road
Scottish people
The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...
family patriarch who settled near the Scarborough Bluffs
Scarborough Bluffs
The Scarborough Bluffs is an escarpment in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Forming much of the eastern portion of Toronto's waterfront, it is located along the shoreline of Lake Ontario. At its highest point, the escarpment rises above its foot and spans a length of...
in 1833. The street, the former Lot 22, and later McCowan's Sideroad, was officially renamed McCowan Road by Scarborough Township in 1956.
McCowan Road begins at Kingston Road and extends north into York Region. There is an interruption at the Highland Creek
Highland Creek (Toronto)
Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, and bass. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto , travels through a...
between Lawrence Avenue and Eglinton Avenue; Danforth Road carries traffic south of Lawrence. When the Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre
The Scarborough Town Centre is an upscale shopping mall in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre, it is adjacent to the Scarborough Centre RT station and Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal. It was constructed by Oxford Properties and opened in...
complex was opened in 1973, an interchange with Highway 401 was constructed. North of Sheppard Avenue, CP Rail's Toronto marshalling yards use McCowan as a western limit, and stretch east of Markham Road.
Bellamy Road
Bellamy Road, previously Secord Road, is named for author Edward BellamyEdward Bellamy
Edward Bellamy was an American author and socialist, most famous for his utopian novel, Looking Backward, set in the year 2000. He was a very influential writer during the Gilded Age of United States history.-Early life:...
, who wrote Looking Backwards 2000–1887, about a utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
n society. Settlers approached Scarborough Township for a parcel of land to start their own utopia. Although the request was not granted, the road along which they sought to establish their society came to be known as Bellamy Road. The CN grade-separation on Eglinton, built in the early 1960s, split Bellamy Road into two unconnected sections. Consequently, the township of Scarborough renamed the sections as North or South on May 29, 1964.
Bellamy Road South begins at Kingston Road and proceeds north to just short of Eglinton Avenue. It is entirely a minor residential street. Bellamy Road North resumes opposite the southern section, just north of the CN tracks. The road becomes Corporate Drive at Progress Avenue, proceeding towards the Scarborough Town Centre
Scarborough Town Centre
The Scarborough Town Centre is an upscale shopping mall in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Central to the Scarborough City Centre, it is adjacent to the Scarborough Centre RT station and Scarborough Centre Bus Terminal. It was constructed by Oxford Properties and opened in...
. Most of the northern section is residential, though the section between Ellesmere Road and Progress consists solely of multi-unit warehousing, many of which have been converted into places of worship.
Markham Road
Originally the Markham and Scarborough Plank Road, the concession line that led to the town of Markham was an early plank roadPlank road
A plank road or puncheon is a dirt path or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were very popular in Ontario, the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century...
. Existing first between the Danforth Road (now Painted Post) and the town, it was later extended south to Kingston Road and north to Stouffville
Stouffville, Ontario
Stouffville is the primary urban area within the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. It is centred at the intersection of Main Street, Mill Street and Market Street.-History:...
. Alongside the construction of the Toronto Bypass (now Highway 401), Highway 48
Ontario Highway 48
King's Highway 48, also known as Highway 48, is a provincially-maintained highway in southern Ontario that extends from Major Mackenzie Drive in Markham, through Whitchurch-Stouffville, to Highway 12 south-east of Beaverton, Ontario. Prior to 1998, Highway 48 extended from Highway 401 in Toronto to...
was extended south, from near Beaverton
Beaverton, Ontario
Beaverton is a community in Brock Township in the Regional Municipality of Durham, Ontario, Canada.Originally part of Thorah Township in Ontario County, Beaverton was first settled in 1822. The settlement is located on Lake Simcoe at the mouth of the Beaver River...
, to where Markham Road would intersect the new "superhighway". It was originally intended to be upgraded to a freeway that would wrap around the eastern side of Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe
Lake Simcoe is a lake in Southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called Ouentironk by the Huron natives...
and end in Orillia or north of Sutherland. However, with the construction of the Don Valley Parkway, Woodbine Avenue would be chosen in its place, becoming Highway 404.
Markham Road begins at Hill Crescent, south of Kingston Road. It proceeds through Scarborough to Steeles Avenue East, but continues into York Region where it is also designated as York Regional Road 68. Between Eglinton Avenue and Lawrence Avenue, the road crosses the Highland Creek
Highland Creek (Toronto)
Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, and bass. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto , travels through a...
ravine; one of the only crossings of the ravine not bypassed by a high-level bridge. South of Sheppard Avenue, most of the route is abutted by a mix of apartments and commercial strip plazas. North of Sheppard is occupied entirely by expanses of industrial land.
Scarborough Golf Club Road
Scarborough Gold Club Road was named after the Scarborough Golf Course, which still lay in the Highland CreekHighland Creek (Toronto)
Highland Creek is a river in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario, emptying into Lake Ontario at the eastern end of the Scarborough Bluffs. It is home to several species of fish including trout, carp, and bass. It is a meandering river which, like most rivers in Toronto , travels through a...
valley along the road. Scarborough Golf Club begins at Hill Crescent and travels north to Ellesmere Road.
Meadowvale Road
Meadowvale Road is primarily a residential route in ScarboroughScarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
. It is the site of the Toronto Zoo
Toronto Zoo
The Toronto Zoo is a zoo located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It opened August 15, 1974 as the Metropolitan Toronto Zoo and is owned by the City of Toronto; the word "Metropolitan" was dropped from its name when the cities of the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto were amalgamated to form the...
north of Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
. North of the zoo, Meadowvale Road crosses through Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
's only rural region, which includes farmland, large section of plain fields, forests, and wildlife.
Centennial Road
Centennial Road, despite travelling through an area that was developed during Canada's centennial, takes its name from the church at its intersection with Kingston Road. The church was named Centennial in honour of the 100 year anniversary. Many of the streets along or near Centennial Road are named after the Fathers of ConfederationFathers of Confederation
The Fathers of Confederation are the people who attended the Charlottetown and Quebec Conferences in 1864 and the London Conference of 1866 in England, preceding Canadian Confederation. The following lists the participants in the Charlottetown, Quebec, and London Conferences and their attendance at...
.